Resident Evil Requiem: The rumour breathing new life into the saga and its zombies

Resident Evil Requiem: The phantom project haunting gamers

Have you spotted the Resident Evil Requiem hashtag doing the rounds on social media? For the last few weeks, a rumour has been setting the community alight: Capcom is apparently working on a new instalment called Resident Evil Requiem. Some are talking about a remake of the fourth game, others reckon it's a brand-new episode centred on iconic characters. One thing's for sure: survival horror fans are already licking their lips. And let's be honest, after the monster success of the Resident Evil 2 and remakes, we'd be daft not to believe it.

Easter eggs too good to be true

The real fuel for the fire is all this talk of easter eggs. Capcom has always loved slipping little nods into its games, but this time, some folks are seeing it as almost a clumsy love letter. On forums, eagle-eyed sleuths have spotted a document in Resident Evil Village mentioning something called the "Requiem protocol". Coincidence? Probably not. Others would swear they heard a zombie nurse mutter "Requiem" in a corridor of the Resident Evil 4 Remake. Okay, so maybe your ears start playing tricks on you after ten hours of gameplay, but the idea is taking hold. What if Capcom has been leading us up the garden path for months right under our noses?

Zombies never go out of style: why we just can't get enough

The undead are a bit like a proper cup of tea: comforting, even when things look bleak. A recent analysis reminded us that zombies are eternal because they tap into our deepest, most visceral fears – illness, an out-of-control mob, the end of the world. From the first Resident Evil on the PlayStation right through to today's ultra-polished versions, the recipe hasn't changed: creaky doors, scarce ammunition, and that feeling of being utterly alone in the face of horror. Resident Evil Requiem could well plunge us right back into that, with a hefty dose of nostalgia.

What we'd love to see in this new instalment

If the rumour turns out to be true, here are my modest demands (and I'm pretty sure you'll agree):

• A back-to-basics approach with fixed camera angles and tank controls, to get us jumping just like in 1998.
• Those daft but brilliant puzzles, you know the kind – arranging three statues in the right order to open a door.
• A decent nod to Resident Evil 4, but not overdoing it – the last thing we need is yet another disguised remake.
• Slow but terrifying zombies, not the sprinting type that are on top of you in two seconds flat.
• A soundtrack that makes you want to sleep with the lights on.

Is Capcom going over the top with its in-jokes?

Honestly, we love easter eggs. But when every nook and cranny of a game becomes a treasure hunt, you end up missing the main point: pure, unadulterated dread. Some fans accuse Capcom of laying it on a bit thick with these hidden messages, to the point that Resident Evil Requiem would become more of a meta-puzzle than a proper horror game. My take? As long as the spirit is there, we're in. But the studio probably shouldn't start thinking it's M. Night Shyamalan with a twist around every corner.

While we wait for an official announcement – which might just drop at the next showcase – we'll carry on dissecting every image, every trailer, every rumour. And if Resident Evil Requiem didn't exist, we'd invent it. Because when it comes down to it, that's what being a fan is all about: hoping the zombies never really die.